Scottish Executive

Aggregates Tax

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the value of, and percentage of the total fund, Scotland’s share of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund has been, or is expected to be, in the five year period from 2002-03.

Ross Finnie: 90% of the levy is returned to the economy through a reduction in employers’ National Insurance contributions. The remaining 10% is allocated for environmental purposes to the UK Government and the devolved administrations. The Scottish share of that 10% is calculated using the Barnett formula. The value is £3 million per annum for the five year period from 2002-07

Aggregates Tax

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive on what expenditure items, and to what value, Scotland's share of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund has been spent in 2002-03 and 2003-04 and what plans exist for 2004 to 2007.

Ross Finnie: Scotland receives a share of the aggregates levy equivalent to the share allocated for environmental purposes to Defra’s Aggregates Levy Sustainability Fund. The Executive administers the use of the funding through the Sustainable Action Fund.

  In 2002-03 a total of £1,851,599 was spent. £885,522 was paid to 38 community environmental renewal scheme (CERS) projects throughout Scotland, and £930,599 was paid to other environmental projects:

  

Sustainable Design in Architecture
£196,000


Marine Environment
£50,000


Timber Cladding
£30,000


Sustainability in Golf
£107,000


Sustainable Scotland Network Development Officer
£21,970


Industrial Symbiosis
£100,000


WRAP Aggregates Recycling
£250,000


Glasgow Building Preservation Trust
£18,500


British Trust of Conservation Volunteers (BTCV)
£149,129


Good Neighbour agreements
£8,000



  In 2003-04 a total of £3,071,004 was spent. £1,963,004 was paid to 80 CERS projects throughout Scotland, and £1,108,000 was paid to other projects:

  

Sustainable Design in Architecture
£404,000


Sustainability in Golf 
£140,000


Sustainable Scotland Network Development Officer 
£40,000


Industrial Symbiosis  
£100,000


WRAP Aggregates Recycling   
£420,000


Good Neighbour agreements   
£4,000



  For 2004-07 I announced in the Scottish Parliament on 29 April 2004 that I was extending the Community Environmental Renewal Grants scheme. The scheme will allocate more than £4 million up to March 2007 to support projects in communities that are affected by past or present aggregate extraction. Forward Scotland is administering the scheme on behalf of the Executive for 2004 to 2007. Together with the administration cost, £1.5 million per annum is allocated to this, though with the funding profile varied each year in the interest of assisting project planning.

  We have also approved grants for a continuation of some of the larger projects and for some new work. The projects funded over 2004-07 are:

  

WRAP Aggregates Programme
£1,400,000 (3 years)


Sustainable Design in Architecture
£600,000 (3 years)


Sustainable Scotland Network Development Officer post
£120,000 (3 years)


Scottish Industrial Symbiosis Programme
£300,000 (3 years)


Sustainability in Golf
£90,000 (1 year) 


Sustainable Development Commission Secretariat
£200,000 (2 years)


Biodiversity Strategy implementation and Biodiversity grants
£900,000 (3 years)


"Planning for People" programme 
£147,310 (3 years)


Quarrying Survey (contribution to UK-wide survey)
£20,000 (1 year)


Environment Jobs Scotland
£116,000 (1 year)



  The Deputy Minister for Environment and Rural Development launched the biodiversity strategy and announced the biodiversity grants on 25 May 2004 and announced the grant for the Sustainability in Golf work on 22 June 2004. We announced on 29 March 2004 that the Executive was funding a new post in the Sustainable Development Commission's Secretariat to support the work of the Commission in Scotland. We expect opportunities to arise to make further information available about the progress of these projects.

  There is information about the projects on the Executive’s website and this is continually updated.

Aggregates Tax

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S1W-20824 by Allan Wilson on 21 December 2001, what the net benefit or cost of the aggregates tax has been to the economy in (a) 2002-03 and (b) 2003-04 after taking account of the Aggregates Tax Sustainability Fund.

Ross Finnie: Assessment of economic impacts of taxation measures is a matter for HM Treasury.

Ambulance Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether there are guidelines regarding the number of emergency ambulances per head of the population and, if so, how often they are reviewed.

Malcolm Chisholm: It is for the Scottish Ambulance Service to determine how best to deploy its ambulance resources to achieve the response time standards agreed with the Scottish Executive. The Ambulance Service constantly monitors its performance to ensure that resources meet demand.

Community Care

Mary Scanlon (Highlands and Islands) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive why there was a reduction of 4,822 in the number of adults attending registered day care services from 1997 to 2003, as referred to in Statistics Release: Day Care Services, Scotland 2003 , given the increased emphasis on community care.

Mr Tom McCabe: The figures for 1997 and 2003 are not directly comparable.

  The 1997 survey asked for a count of all persons who regularly attended the day care service regardless of whether they attended during the census week. From 2001 onwards, the survey asked for only the number of people attending during the survey week.

  Since 2001, the number of people attending registered day care services has shown a slight increase. Since 1997, there has been a small increase in the overall number of day care places available.

Dentistry

Fergus Ewing (Inverness East, Nairn and Lochaber) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it has any further plans to increase the availability of NHS dentistry services in the Highlands and, if so, what these plans are, whether they involve enhancing existing measures and what new measures it will take in this regard.

Mr Tom McCabe: Responsibility for the overall provision of NHS dental services in Highland rests with NHS Highland. It is, however, recognised that there are increasing problems with access to NHS dental services in Highland. For this reason Highland is one of the designated areas of Scotland which will benefit from changes to the existing recruitment and retention initiatives and the introduction of a number of new measures aimed at improving access, which came into effect on 1 April this year. In addition, NHS Highland was successful in a bid for funding under the Primary and Community Care Modernising Programme to develop a new five surgery dental facilities in Wick. We will also continue to approve salaried dentist posts where there is a gap in provision.

  We also intend to announce the Executive response to the consultation Modernising NHS Dental Services in Scotland in the autumn.

Dentistry

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people are registered with a dentist, broken down by NHS board.

Mr Tom McCabe: The information requested is provided in the following table.

  Number of People Registered with an NHS General Dental Practitioner; 30 June 2004

  

Health Board Area
Children
Adults
Total


Argyll and Clyde
58,298
162,278
220,576


Ayrshire and Arran
54,476
147,077
201,553


Borders
13,579
37,617
51,196


Dumfries and Galloway
19,248
45,136
64,384


Fife
47,146
137,840
184,986


Forth Valley
41,707
105,993
147,700


Grampian
66,014
159,886
225,900


Greater Glasgow
128,782
356,699
485,481


Highland
27,813
47,705
75,518


Lanarkshire
75,828
204,568
280,396


Lothian
112,422
310,444
422,866


Orkney
1,298
3,700
4,998


Shetland
3,074
7,248
10,322


Tayside
59,324
171,470
230,794


Western Isles
1,638
9,058
10,696


Scotland
710,647
1,906,719
2,617,366



  Source: MIDAS (Management Information and Dental Accounting System).

Digital Hearing Aids

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what progress has been made in ensuring that digital hearing aids are readily available throughout Scotland for those who need them.

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether NHS boards have encountered any particular problems in prescribing digital hearing aids to those who need them.

Mr Tom McCabe: The Executive has already made £7 million available to NHS boards to modernise audiology services and allow the provision of digital hearing aids where these are the most clinically effective option. An experienced project manager has been appointed to facilitate the modernisation process.

  A significant proportion of the additional funds is initially being directed at infrastructure improvements essential to the provision of a modernised service, including the provision of suitable accommodation, equipment, information technology and the recruitment of additional trained staff.

  The Executive expects NHSScotland to be in a position to provide digital hearing aids in all cases where they represent the most clinically effective option by the end of March 2006. In the meantime, digital hearing aids are currently available on a limited basis in most NHS board areas.

Digital Hearing Aids

Bill Butler (Glasgow Anniesland) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what the approximate level of need for digital hearing aids is within each NHS board area.

Mr Tom McCabe: This information is not held centrally.

  The Public Health Institute of Scotland’s Needs Assessment Report on NHS Audiology Services in Scotland, published in January 2003 states that:

  "730,000 adults in Scotland have a hearing loss with a consequent communication deficit, of whom 533,000 would benefit from NHS hearing services as they currently exist. Only one third of potential beneficiaries currently access these services. Nevertheless, approaching 90% of all hearing aids in Scotland are delivered by the NHS".

  Digital hearing aids are not suitable for all types of hearing loss. The aim of the Audiology Modernisation Project is therefore that patients receive hearing aids with features to best overcome their impairment, and that the fitting and associated follow-up provide effective rehabilitation.

Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003

David Mundell (South of Scotland) (Con): To ask the Scottish Executive how many prosecutions there have been under the Dog Fouling (Scotland) Act 2003 since it came into force.

Cathy Jamieson: Statistics covering court proceedings concluded in the period since the 2003 act came into force are not yet available.

Employment

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the level of employment was in (a) 1996, (b) 1997 and (c) 1998.

Mr Jim Wallace: Table 1 Total Employment (Seasonally Adjusted), Scotland 1

  

 
Total Employment (000)


Spring 1996
2,243


Spring 1997
2,267


Spring 1998
2,295



  Source: Labour Force Survey.

  Note: 1. Ages 16 and over.

Employment

Jim Mather (Highlands and Islands) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what steps are being taken to attract major employers to Scotland, in light of the reduction in the number of jobs available with such employers in 2003.

Mr Jim Wallace: Through our international economic development agency, Scottish Development International, the Scottish Executive is targeting high-value, knowledge intensive inward investment that complements Scotland’s key strengths. SDI’s global sales force works from their own overseas bases and through the commercial section of UK embassies and consulates to develop positive relationships with potential new investors. They also seek to attract new, higher value investments from existing investors in Scotland, most of whom are major employers.

  The most recent Scottish Corporate Sector Statistics showed that the number of people in Scotland employed by overseas-owned businesses increased from 174,070 in 2002 to 214,640 in 2003. This is an increase from 9% of total jobs to 12%.

  The most recent Scottish Corporate Sector Statistics can be found at the Scottish Executive website at the following link:

  http://www.scotland.gov.uk/about/ETLLD/EI/00018389/page1346731326.aspx

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many children were born with HIV in each of the last five years (a) in total and (b) broken down by NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: Between 1999 and 2003, three children, who were born in Scotland, were reported with a confirmed HIV infection, transmitted from mother to child. Two of these infections were reported in 2000 from NHS boards in the East of Scotland, while 1 was reported in 2003 from a West of Scotland NHS Board. To preserve patient confidentiality, the NHS boards concerned cannot be disclosed.

Health

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive, further to the answer to question S2W-9291 by Malcolm Chisholm on 10 August 2004, how many patients have had their planned admissions for in-patient and day-case treatment cancelled more than once in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available. It is not possible to identify from centrally collected data, the number of patients who have had their planned admissions to hospitals for in-patient or day-case treatment cancelled on more than one occasion.

  Information is collected centrally only on the number of cancellations of planned admissions to hospital for in-patient and day-case treatment. Figures for the last five years were provided in my answer to S2W-9291 on 10 August 2004. All answers to written parliamentary questions are available on the Parliament’s website, the search facility for which can be found at:

  http://www.scottish.parliament.uk/webapp/wa.search.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) have occurred in the last year, broken down by individual hospital and NHS board area.

Malcolm Chisholm: : The information requested is not held centrally.

  Data are available on the rates of episodes of MRSA bacteraemia (blood poisoning) by health board. The information is published quarterly by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (see www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/).

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what strategies are in place to combat hospital-acquired infections such as methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus.

Malcolm Chisholm: The Scottish Executive has put in place a range of measures to tackle healthcare associated infection (HAI), including methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus. These include the introduction of service standards by NHS Quality Improvement Scotland for infection control and cleaning services, a national mandatory system of surveillance of HAI, improved measures for the decontamination of re-usable medical devices, and an antimicrobial resistance strategy. In addition an HAI Task Force chaired by the Chief Medical Officer, has been formed to action a three year programme of work to improve prevention and control of HAI.

Hospital-Acquired Infection

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it will publish figures on the incidence of methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aureus (MRSA) in each hospital in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: Data is available on the rates of episodes of MRSA bacteraemia (blood poisoning) by health board to allow for monitoring of trends in infection. The data was not collected before 2001 and information for individual hospitals can be unreliable and misleading, or may be combined through use of a joint laboratory. The results are published quarterly by the Scottish Centre for Infection and Environmental Health (see www.show.scot.nhs.uk/scieh/ ).

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many people under 21 received a custodial sentence in each of the last five years (a) in total and (b) broken down by sheriff court district.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table.

  Persons Aged Under 21 Given a Custodial Sentence in Scottish Courts, by Court, 1998-2002

  

 
Year of Sentence


1998
1999
2000
2001
20021


High Court
149
155
159
134
110


Sheriff Courts:
 


Aberdeen 
321
299
313
236
172


Airdrie 
93
100
80
79
79


Alloa 
56
29
35
37
30


Arbroath 
93
54
39
78
46


Ayr 
142
137
207
164
143


Banff 
12
21
7
34
9


Campbeltown 
7
3
-
7
-


Cupar 
20
19
25
34
18


Dingwall 
11
12
12
5
2


Dornoch 
2
2
7
2
2


Dumbarton 
128
142
122
125
51


Dumfries 
65
49
53
87
92


Dundee 
390
265
310
306
246


Dunfermline 
105
75
95
121
59


Dunoon 
12
4
4
- 
6


Duns 
7
1
5
6
7


Edinburgh 
293
374
373
407
397


Elgin 
18
33
44
58
71


Falkirk 
84
92
97
81
128


Forfar 
21
17
12
36
38


Fort William 
6
4
22
10
10


Glasgow 
560
671
644
508
549


Greenock 
190
206
149
134
107


Haddington 
36
20
25
21
23


Hamilton 
145
124
147
146
150


Inverness 
42
68
69
47
30


Jedburgh 
34
18
32
41
26


Kilmarnock 
305
367
296
332
212


Kirkcaldy 
186
251
160
147
78


Kirkcudbright
13
12
19
20
15


Kirkwall 
1
3
1
3
1


Lanark 
31
31
34
27
21


Lerwick 
18
12
9
10
-


Linlithgow 
54
119
72
52
116


Lochmaddy 
1
-
3
1
-


Not Known 
-
-
4
-
-


Oban 
7
7
7
11
13


Paisley 
262
210
193
236
201


Peebles 
7
21
5
-
1


Perth 
39
33
47
81
67


Peterhead 
60
36
38
15
27


Rothesay 
3
-
2
2
13


Selkirk 
22
6
6
26
37


Stirling 
40
38
40
38
47


Stonehaven 
11
5
7
7
3


Stornoway 
17
11
5
4
6


Stranraer 
67
49
53
83
37


Tain 
5
4
16
20
40


Wick 
14
6
2
9
1


Sub-total
4,056
4,060
3,947
3,934
3,427


District and Stipendiary Magistrates Courts:


Aberdeen City 
38
15
4
2
1


Aberdeenshire 
5
3
4
-
3


Angus 
8
1
3
4
2


Clackmannanshire 
-
-
-
-
1


Dumfries and Galloway
2
2
-
-
-


Dundee City 
41
20
38
15
27


East Ayrshire 
10
8
2
6
3


East Dunbartonshire
-
1
-
-
1


East Renfrewshire 
1
-
-
1
-


Edinburgh, City of 
1
1
2
4
8


Eilian Siar 
-
-
5
-
-


Fife 
6
10
4
7
-


Glasgow City 
161
212
139
102
75


Highland 
2
9
15
1
2


Inverclyde 
-
1
7
2
1


Moray 
-
-
-
3
1


North Ayrshire 
1
-
1
2
1


North Lanarkshire 
1
3
3
5
2


Perth and Kinross 
2
3
5
7
2


Renfrewshire 
-
-
-
2
4


Scottish Borders 
1
-
-
-
-


South Ayrshire 
-
9
3
20
10


South Lanarkshire 
-
1
3
-
3


Stirling 
1
-
-
-
-


West Dunbartonshire
-
2
1
8
-


West Lothian 
-
-
-
1
2


Sub-total
281
301
239
192
149


All courts
4,486
4,516
4,345
4,260
3,686



  Note: 1. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record court disposals on SCRO system.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many crimes were committed by people on bail in each of the last five years in each sheriff court district, broken down by main crime.

Cathy Jamieson: Information is not available in the form requested. Some estimates of reoffending on bail are contained in the research report Offending on bail: an analysis of the use and the impact of aggravated sentences for bail offenders which was published on 17 March 2004.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of dangerous driving were proceeded with in each sheriff court district in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table.

  Persons Proceeded Against for Dangerous Driving1 in Scottish Courts, by Court, 1998-2002

  

 
Year of Sentence


1998
1999
2000
2001
20024


Sheriff Courts:
 


Aberdeen 
49
52
26
42
51


Airdrie 
10
17
16
18
39


Alloa 
1
2
3
2
4


Arbroath 
18
5
6
3
15


Ayr 
22
28
23
24
18


Banff 
4
5
5
1
5


Campbeltown 
-
-
1
3
3


Cupar 
14
10
7
10
13


Dingwall 
14
10
2
14
6


Dornoch 
3
1
1
-
-


Dumbarton 
14
14
14
16
7


Dumfries 
36
43
38
27
51


Dundee 
25
27
9
22
26


Dunfermline 
17
20
16
14
20


Dunoon 
-
3
7
4
4


Duns 
-
1
2
3
3


Edinburgh 
70
63
47
64
70


Elgin 
15
15
9
15
18


Falkirk 
6
8
8
13
14


Forfar 
15
17
9
12
28


Fort William 
1
6
1
5
4


Glasgow 
88
100
106
112
112


Greenock 
8
13
13
10
5


Haddington 
7
5
4
7
10


Hamilton 
51
38
35
51
65


Inverness 
15
18
11
14
22


Jedburgh 
4
1
2
6
4


Kilmarnock 
53
53
42
44
42


Kirkcaldy 
25
27
20
43
33


Kirkcudbright
2
4
3
3
2


Kirkwall 
7
4
1
3
2


Lanark 
35
36
49
37
40


Lerwick 
2
1
1
2
1


Linlithgow 
16
21
23
23
41


Lochmaddy 
-
-
-
-
2


Oban 
5
2
3
1
1


Paisley 
47
57
29
32
33


Peebles 
2
2
-
1
2


Perth 
19
18
10
25
25


Peterhead 
13
7
2
4
8


Rothesay 
1
-
2
-
-


Selkirk 
7
3
2
3
6


Stirling 
11
8
7
8
9


Stonehaven 
6
14
7
12
10


Stornoway 
2
3
1
3
2


Stranraer 
8
6
5
7
14


Tain 
2
9
1
4
9


Wick 
3
6
2
10
7


Sub-total
773
803
6803
777
906


All courts2
794
811
687
781
910



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes a small number of cases in High Court and district courts.

  3. Includes 49 cases where sheriff court unknown.

  4. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record details of some court proceedings in SCRO system.

Justice

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many cases of dangerous driving had a charge proved in each sheriff court district in each of the last five years.

Cathy Jamieson: The available information is given in the table.

  Persons with a Charge Proved for Dangerous Driving1 in Scottish Courts, by Court, 1998-2002

  

 
Year of Sentence


1998
1999
2000
2001
20024


Sheriff Courts:
 


Aberdeen 
47
47
25
38
51


Airdrie 
5
10
11
13
32


Alloa 
1
2
3
2
4


Arbroath 
17
4
5
3
12


Ayr 
20
24
23
24
17


Banff 
4
4
5
1
4


Campbeltown 
-
-
1
3
3


Cupar 
14
9
7
10
13


Dingwall 
14
9
2
14
6


Dornoch 
3
1
1
-
-


Dumbarton 
13
12
13
14
7


Dumfries 
33
41
34
25
51


Dundee 
21
23
9
18
20


Dunfermline 
17
19
16
14
19


Dunoon 
-
3
7
4
4


Duns 
-
1
2
3
3


Edinburgh 
68
60
44
61
65


Elgin 
13
15
9
15
16


Falkirk 
6
6
7
12
13


Forfar 
14
16
8
11
27


Fort William 
1
6
1
5
4


Glasgow 
82
87
96
104
109


Greenock 
8
12
12
9
5


Haddington 
7
5
3
6
9


Hamilton 
46
27
27
43
58


Inverness 
14
18
11
14
21


Jedburgh 
3
1
2
5
4


Kilmarnock 
50
49
39
41
40


Kirkcaldy 
25
24
19
42
32


Kirkcudbright
2
4
3
2
2


Kirkwall 
5
3
1
3
2


Lanark 
34
31
47
33
26


Lerwick 
2
-
1
2
1


Linlithgow 
14
21
21
22
39


Lochmaddy 
-
-
-
-
1


Oban 
4
1
3
1
1


Paisley 
47
42
26
29
31


Peebles 
2
2
-
1
2


Perth 
17
12
10
20
18


Peterhead 
12
7
1
4
8


Rothesay 
1
-
2
-
-


Selkirk 
7
2
2
3
6


Stirling 
11
7
4
7
8


Stonehaven 
6
14
6
12
10


Stornoway 
2
3
-
3
2


Stranraer 
4
6
4
7
11


Tain 
2
8
1
4
9


Wick 
3
6
2
9
7


Sub-total
721
704
6203
716
833


All courts2
740
711
624
718
837



  Notes:

  1. Where main offence.

  2. Includes a small number of cases in High Court and district courts.

  3. Includes 44 cases where sheriff court unknown.

  4. Figures may be underestimates due to time taken to record details of some court proceedings in SCRO system.

Ministerial Correspondence

Stewart Stevenson (Banff and Buchan) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when it will reply to my letter of 7 July 2004 on Aberdeenshire Council’s Fairshare campaign.

Euan Robson: I replied on 8 August to the letter in question. I have arranged for a further copy to be sent to you.

Ministerial Visits

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the Minister for Justice has any plans to visit HM Prison Aberdeen and, if so, when.

Cathy Jamieson: I visited HM Prison Aberdeen on Monday 23 August 2004.

NHS Boards

Jackie Baillie (Dumbarton) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive what percentage of the population of NHS Argyll and Clyde resides in each of its three local operating division areas.

Malcolm Chisholm: This is a matter for NHS Argyll and Clyde. The information is not collected centrally in the format requested.

NHS Equipment

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many items of specialised medical equipment are (a) not being used and (b) underused because of a lack of trained staff to operate them, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not held centrally.

NHS Equipment

Rhona Brankin (Midlothian) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive how many women have access to DEXA scanners for osteoporosis.

Malcolm Chisholm: The majority of health boards are able to provide DEXA scans. In those board areas where there is no scanner available locally, arrangements can be made with neighbouring boards to provide this service.

  I am aware that there can be lengthy waiting times for this service and the Executive is working with boards to help increase availability of scanners.

NHS Funding

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how much, and by what percentage, each NHS board budget has increased (a) in total and (b) per capita and what the average increase was in each year since 1999.

Malcolm Chisholm: Details are as follows:

  

NHS Board
1999-2000
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
1999-2000
Total Budget Increase
(%)
1999-2000
Per Capita Increase
(£)
1999-2000
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
14,027
3.6
36
4.0


Ayrshire and Arran
15,378
4.7
43
4.9


Borders
4,494
4.6
41
4.5


Dumfries and Galloway
8,031
5.7
58
6.1


Fife
12,344
4.3
35
4.2


Forth Valley
11,657
5.0
37
4.3


Grampian
15,371
3.5
29
3.5


Greater Glasgow
42,415
4.9
52
5.5


Highland
2,686
1.4
12
1.2


Lanarkshire
22,118
4.9
37
4.6


Lothian
22,954
3.5
24
2.8


Orkney**
-846
-3.8
-46
-4.0


Shetland
766
3.2
42
4.0


Tayside
15,306
4.0
43
4.4


Western Isles
493
1.4
36
2.8


Total
187,194
4.1
37
4.1



  Notes:

  All boards received a minimum annual increase of 4.25% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

  **Adjustment to the method of funding the Scottish Ambulance Service and a reduction in the level of non-recurring bridging finance from 1998-99 to 1999-2000 distorts annual changes although this had no impact on the level of disposable income available to the board.

  

NHS Board
2000-01
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
2000-01
Total Budget Increase
(%)
2000-01
Per Capita Increase
(£)
2000-01
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
29,208
7.3
74
7.8


Ayrshire and Arran
26,734
7.8
75
8.2


Borders
5,698
5.6
49
5.1


Dumfries and Galloway
5,777
3.9
47
4.6


Fife
22,189
7.4
60
7.1


Forth Valley
20,888
8.6
74
8.4


Grampian
32,505
7.1
65
7.5


Greater Glasgow
61,779
6.8
70
7.0


Highland
15,383
7.8
74
7.8


Lanarkshire
35,695
7.5
64
7.5


Lothian
48,377
7.1
56
6.4


Orkney
948
4.4
55
5.1


Shetland
1,854
7.5
97
8.9


Tayside
28,894
7.3
82
8.1


Western Isles
2,888
7.8
125
9.3


Total
338,817
7.2
67
7.3



  Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 5.1% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

  

NHS Board
2001-02
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
2001-02
Total Budget Increase
(%)
2001-02
Per Capita Increase
(£)
2001-02
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
25,190
5.9
67
6.6


Ayrshire and Arran
19,198
5.2
66
6.7


Borders
4,443
4.2
41
4.1


Dumfries and Galloway
8,708
5.7
45
4.2


Fife
14,255
4.5
43
4.7


Forth Valley
11,762
4.4
38
4.0


Grampian
14,945
3.1
24
2.6


Greater Glasgow
62,294
6.4
117
10.8


Highland
17,837
8.4
84
8.2


Lanarkshire
40,983
8.0
89
9.7


Lothian
42,268
5.8
60
6.4


Orkney
2,123
9.5
126
11.0


Shetland
1,603
6.0
99
8.3


Tayside
33,524
7.9
77
7.0


Western Isles
4,078
10.2
195
13.3


Total
303,211
6.0
70
7.0



  Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 5.5% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

  

NHS Board
2002-03
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
2002-03
Total Budget Increase
(%)
2002-03
Per Capita Increase
(£)
2002-03
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
22,421
4.9
59
5.4


Ayrshire and Arran
26,260
6.8
75
7.1


Borders
6,301
5.7
54
5.2


Dumfries and Galloway
10,762
6.6
77
7.0


Fife
19,501
5.8
53
5.6


Forth Valley
18,361
6.6
65
6.6


Grampian
36,112
7.2
74
7.7


Greater Glasgow
83,256
8.0
99
8.3


Highland
15,864
6.9
80
7.3


Lanarkshire
19,657
3.5
36
3.6


Lothian
3,135
0.4
4
0.4


Orkney
1,198
4.9
63
4.9


Shetland
2,735
9.7
126
9.8


Tayside
14,827
3.2
42
3.6


Western Isles
2,646
6.0
117
7.0


Total
283,036
5.3
58
5.5



  Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 6.8% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

  

NHS Board
2003-04
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
2003-04
Total Budget Increase
(%)
2003-04
Per Capita Increase
(£)
2003-04
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
32,803
6.9
83
7.3


Ayrshire and Arran
33,080
8.0
90
8.0


Borders
9,381
8.0
78
7.1


Dumfries and Galloway
11,927
6.9
82
7.0


Fife
29,043
8.2
79
7.8


Forth Valley
18,037
6.1
63
6.0


Grampian
37,761
7.0
72
7.0


Greater Glasgow
57,965
5.2
66
5.1


Highland
19,794
8.0
89
7.5


Lanarkshire
50,008
8.7
89
8.6


Lothian
111,195
14.3
141
14.2


Orkney
1,337
5.2
62
4.7


Shetland
2,334
7.5
111
7.9


Tayside
22,156
4.7
60
4.9


Western Isles
3,750
8.1
150
8.5


Total
440,571
7.8
87
7.7



  Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 7.4% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

  

NHS Board
2004-05
Total Budget Increase
(£000)
2004-05
Total Budget Increase
(%)
2004-05
Per Capita Increase
(£)
2004-05
Per Capita Increase
(%)


Argyll and Clyde
51,597
10.1
124
10.1


Ayrshire and Arran
49,657
11.1
135
11.1


Borders
14,471
11.4
134
11.4


Dumfries and Galloway
20,502
11.1
139
11.1


Fife
43,860
11.5
125
11.5


Forth Valley
28,978
9.3
104
9.3


Grampian
28,202
4.9
54
4.9


Greater Glasgow
88,098
7.5
102
7.5


Highland
33,771
12.7
162
12.7


Lanarkshire
59,729
9.6
108
9.6


Lothian
28,675
3.2
37
3.2


Orkney
2,520
9.3
131
9.3


Shetland
279
0.8
13
0.8


Tayside
36,597
7.4
95
7.4


Western Isles
2,947
5.9
113
5.9


Total
489,883
8.0
97
8.0



  Note: All boards received a minimum annual increase of 6.75% in initial unified budget. Total budget increases shown include funds relating to recurring and non-recurring allocations. Annual comparisons are, therefore, not necessarily comparing like with like.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many (a) intensive care unit, (b) cardiac care unit and (c) high dependency unit beds there were in each of the last five years.

Malcolm Chisholm: The most recent information held on numbers of intensive care, cardiac care and high dependency unit beds, based on hospital returns to ISD (Scotland), is presented in the following table.

  NHS Scotland - Average Available Staffed Beds in Intensive Care Units, Cardiac Care Units and High Dependency Units: Years Ending 31 March 2000-04

  

 
2000
2001
2002
2003
2004P


Intensive Care Unit
 162
 164
 165
 171
 172


Cardiac Care Unit
 166
 165
 166
 162
 166


High Dependency Unit1
-
-
-
-
 243



  PProvisional.

  Source: ISD Scotland [Form ISD(S)1].

  Note: 1. Identifiable from code introduced 1st April 2003.

NHS Waiting Times

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the average waiting time was for an (a) MRI and (b) CT scan in each of the last five years, broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The information requested is not available centrally.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the cost of medical negligence claims against the NHS was in each of the last five years, in total and broken down by NHS board.

Malcolm Chisholm: The cost of medical negligence claims paid by NHSScotland in the last five financial years is:

  

NHS Board
1999-2000


Awards (£)
Expenses (£)
Total Cost (£)


Argyll and Clyde
92,628
47,611
140,239


Ayrshire and Arran
40,000
5,721
45,721


Borders
69,500
7,751
77,251


Dumfries and Galloway
133,614
19,887
153,501


Fife
45,900
13,075
58,975


Forth Valley
27,865
5,964
33,829


Grampian
405,383
8,957
414,340


Greater Glasgow
498,733
166,494
665,227


Highland
269,745
25,198
294,943


Lanarkshire
99,698
20,610
120,308


Lothian
906,627
204,452
1,111,079


Shetland
2,664
893
3,557


Tayside
251,000
29,165
280,165


Western Isles
30,000
-
30,000


CSA
82,000
-
82,000


Total
2,955,357
555,778
3,511,135



  

NHS Board 
2000-01


Awards (£)
Expenses (£)
Total Cost (£)


Argyll and Clyde
91,550
52,144
143,694


Ayrshire and Arran
158,263
74,944
233,207


Borders
12,500
2,651
15,151


Dumfries and Galloway
407,500
3,000
410,500


Fife
280,647
77,114
357,761


Forth Valley
434,007
52,259
486,266


Grampian
186,061
59,074
245,135


Greater Glasgow
981,944
173,941
1,155,885


Highland
40,600
45,328
85,928


Lanarkshire
746,336
75,765
822,101


Lothian
252,962
139,109
392,071


Shetland
2,550
827
3,377


Tayside
225,552
94,358
319,910


Western Isles
104,990
28,106
133,096


CSA
-
12,250
12,250


Total
3,925,462
890,870
4,816,332



  

NHS Board 
2001-02


Awards
Expenses
Total Cost (£)


Argyll and Clyde
265,519
36,817
302,336


Ayrshire and Arran
828,865
118,149
947,014


Borders
5,000
1,675
6,675


Dumfries and Galloway
701,116
51,501
752,617


Fife
51,693
32,230
83,923


Forth Valley
292,525
35,264
327,789


Grampian
175,375
16,581
191,956


Greater Glasgow
2,894,856
201,307
3,096,163


Highland
220,276
40,414
260,690


Lanarkshire
51,480
109,479
160,959


Lothian
815,557
85,534
901,091


Orkney
5,500
638
6,138


Shetland
7,700
2,279
9,979


Tayside
138,353
74,854
213,207


Western Isles
5,500
7,730
13,230


CSA
3,000
1,082
4,082


Total
6,462,315
815,534
7,277,849



  

NHS Board 
2002-03


Awards
Expenses
Total Cost (£)


Argyll and Clyde
2,558,831
76,727
2,635,558


Ayrshire and Arran
671,398
34,802
706,200


Borders
20,111
2,385
22,496


Dumfries and Galloway
362,018
75,778
437,796


Fife
125,346
21,227
146,573


Forth Valley
112,954
23,025
135,979


Grampian
77,250
34,834
112,084


Greater Glasgow
2,078,799
229,689
2,308,488


Highland
197,581
26,619
224,200


Lanarkshire
406,282
81,261
487,543


Lothian
1,933,644
147,637
2,081,281


Shetland
78,345
21,583
99,928


Tayside
98,150
32,620
130,770


Total
8,720,709
808,187
9,528,896



  

NHS Board 
2003-04


Awards
Expenses
Total Cost (£)


Argyll and Clyde
270,041
167,395
437,436


Ayrshire and Arran
230,560
81,754
312,314


Borders
13,650
-
13,650


Dumfries and Galloway
219,096
106,999
326,095


Fife
492,449
182,985
675,434


Forth Valley
2,518,400
108,403
2,626,803


Grampian
199,313
45,473
244,786


Greater Glasgow
1,419,508
239,478
1,658,986


Highland
1,324,739
82,338
1,407,077


Lanarkshire
569,846
222,446
792,292


Lothian
879,506
300,602
1,180,108


Shetland
10,200
3,347
13,547


Tayside
105,163
22,849
128,012


Western Isles
-
7,830
7,830


CSA
55,000
3,084
58,084


Total
8,307,471
1,574,983
9,882,454

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what change there has been in the number of accident and emergency cases in NHS board areas where NHS 24 is in operation.

Malcolm Chisholm: Evaluation results to date suggest no significant impact on accident and emergency cases in areas where NHS 24 is in operation.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many hospitals have closed their lists (a) permanently or (b) temporarily to new patients over the last year, broken down by NHS board and speciality.

Malcolm Chisholm: As far as I am aware, no NHSScotland waiting lists have been closed in the last year.

  In December 2001, the Chief Executive of NHSScotland and the Chief Medical Officer issued guidance to the Health Service in Scotland instructing NHS Chief Executives to ensure that no patient who has been referred for assessment or treatment is refused admission to an appropriate waiting list.

National Health Service

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many vacancies there are for nurses, broken down by NHS board and expressed also as a percentage of the whole-time equivalent complement of the workforce.

Malcolm Chisholm: Information on vacancies in NHSScotland is published on the Scottish Health Statistics website under workforce statistics, at www.isdscotland.org/workforce . Information on vacancies for nursing staff is published in table 10 in Section E (Nursing and Midwifery Staff) for each year since 2001. Figures are presented as vacancy rates and whole-time equivalent number of vacancies. Whole-time equivalent adjusts headcount staff figures to take account of part-time staff. Latest available figures are at 31 March 2004.

Pre-School Education

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to make free pre-school child care provision available full-time to ensure that more working parents take up this provision.

Pauline McNeill (Glasgow Kelvin) (Lab): To ask the Scottish Executive whether it plans to extend free pre-school child care provision to under-threes to ensure that more working parents take up this provision.

Peter Peacock: At this time, the Scottish Executive has no plans to provide free full-time pre-school education but we keep our policy on further developing pre-school provision under review.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive when the development plan for the prison estate at HM Prison Aberdeen was submitted; what response has been made by ministers and Scottish Prison Service management, and whether there are any plans to adopt the plan.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  There is no development plan for HM Prison Aberdeen. The SPS is currently updating its estate strategy. This exercise will include HM Prison Aberdeen.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the ratio of prison officers to inmates has been in each of the last six months at each remand prison.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  SPS Establishments are complemented according to the security classification of the prisoner population. There are no exclusively remand prisons in Scotland.

  There is no pre-determined ratio of allocation for officer to prisoner and residential halls are complemented in relation to design, business need, risk assessment and safe systems of work. Also, there are many support staff, not directly in remand halls, who nonetheless contribute towards their management.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive whether the (a) health centre and (b) visiting facilities at HM Prison Aberdeen are satisfactory and whether there are any plans to upgrade these facilities.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service (SPS) to respond. His response is as follows:

  Capital investment overall in the SPS is at record levels. Priority is currently being given to upgrading facilities to end slopping out. Aberdeen prison already provides access to night sanitation.

  It is recognised that the health centre and visiting facilities at Aberdeen prison are far from ideal. The Minister for Justice has instructed SPS to update the estate development strategy, and future investment plans will be considered in light of this.

Prison Service

Richard Lochhead (North East Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive what the staff turnover was in each of the last three years at HM Prison Aberdeen, broken down by category of employee.

Cathy Jamieson: I have asked Tony Cameron, Chief Executive of the Scottish Prison Service to respond. His response is as follows:

  Information in the form requested is not available.

  The turnover in total in the last three years was:

  

April 2001 - March 2002
15
8.9%


April 2002 - March 2003
10
5.9%


April 2003 - March 2004
13
7.7%

Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency

Christine Grahame (South of Scotland) (SNP): To ask the Scottish Executive how many police officers are currently working in the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.

Cathy Jamieson: As at 27 August 2004, there were 192 police officers with the Scottish Drug Enforcement Agency.